COUNCILLORS have branded consultation over plans to close two post offices in Clitheroe a sham after the Royal Mail forgot to tell them about it!

Members of Clitheroe Town Council were left to find out through the media and local gossip that the axe was hanging over Henthorn Road and Whalley Road post offices on the edge of the town centre.

They have written to Royal Mail demanding to know why they had not been informed about the consultation, which finished on Monday.

And they blasted claims that the closure of the two post offices would not cause great hardship to elderly residents.

In a letter to the town council apologising to the authority for not originally writing to them, Royal Mail bosses insisted that a senior manager had visited Clitheroe and reviewed the terrain to ensure that the alternative post office was within reasonable walking distance.

But Clitheroe town Mayor, Coun Joan Knight, said: "They haven't studied it very well in that case.

"The only other post office to get to will be the one in King Street, right in the town centre.

"That one is queuing out the door most of the time anyway, what's it going to be like when the other ones shut?

"We were angry not to have been told about the plans directly. We should have been informed."

Coun Allan Knox added: "The way the letter is written would appear to suggest the decision has been taken and that the consultation is just an exercise."

Simon Smith, from the consultation team, said: "We apologise for not directly writing to the council in the first place and we will be happy to receive future representation from the town council.

"We have also written to Ribble Valley Council and Lancashire County Council."

However, he dismissed a call by the town council for Clitheroe to be deemed a 'rural' area, which would have saved the post offices from the axe.

Around 3,000 of the post office's 9,000 urban branches are being scrapped, but rural offices are safeguarded.

He added: "I fully understand some communities do have a rural feel to them. However, Clitheroe has been classified as urban, based on guidelines from the Cabinet."